Unofficial Hong Kong vote sees new generation take over battle for democracy

Tokyo is likely to see coronavirus cases top 280 on Thursday, Governor Yuriko Koike said, in what would mark a record daily high for the Japanese capital.

The Australian government plans to spend A$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) to substantially extend a programme to subsidise the wages of apprentices, its latest support measure for the work force amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday again extolled the supposed virtues of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to fight COVID-19, as he said that he again tested positive for the coronavirus, a week after he first announced he had become infected.

The death rate for COVID-19 intensive care patients has dropped by about one-third since the start of the pandemic, due at least in part to better hospital care, a review of published studies found.

Canada’s efforts to flatten the curve of coronavirus cases have put the country on the cusp of zero deaths from COVID-19 for the first time since March, but officials see worrying signs of a new spike as provinces lift restrictions.

The governor of Oklahoma said on Wednesday he had been diagnosed with COVID-19, becoming one of the highest elected US politicians to test positive for the disease, as coronavirus infections continue to surge nationally.

US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Wednesday called the White House effort to discredit him “bizarre” and urged an end to the divisiveness over the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying “let’s stop this nonsense.” 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday he expected a World Health Organization (WHO) investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus in China to be “completely whitewashed.”

Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Kevin Stitt said on Wednesday he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the first time a U.S. state governor has announced they were infected.

Coronavirus cases in Venezuela have jumped in recent weeks and two top lieutenants of President Nicolas Maduro have tested positive, triggering warnings from health workers that the pandemic may overwhelm the country’s already battered healthcare system.

Tokyo is considering raising its alert for coronavirus infections to the highest of four levels,officials said on Wednesday, after a spike in cases to record numbers in the Japanese capital.

New Zealand must prepare for new coronavirus outbreaks as the pandemic spreads globally but will not drop its elimination strategy if community transmission was discovered, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday.

China reported on Wednesday six new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 14, up from three cases a day earlier, the health authority said.

Lawyers for George Floyd, who died on May 25 after a Minneapolis policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, will file a civil lawsuit against the city and its police officers on Wednesday, according to a statement from his attorneys.

Alabama, Florida and North Carolina reported record daily increases in deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, grim new milestones that mark a second wave of infections surging across much of the United States.

COVID-19 vaccines under development are not guaranteed to work and people who say to expect a vaccine before year-end are doing a "grave disservice to the public,"Merck & Co Inc's chief said, according to a Harvard Business Review report.

Top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Tuesday said decisions on whether to open schools in US regions hit hard by the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak should be left to local officials.

Australian states on Tuesday tightened restrictions on movement as authorities struggle to contain a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 in the country's southeast that is starting to spill into other areas.

Hong Kong will impose strict new social distancing measures from midnight Tuesday, the most stringent in the Asian financial hub since the coronavirus broke out, as authorities warn the risk of a large-scale outbreak is extremely high.

China reported on Tuesday five new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 13, compared with eight cases a day earlier, the health authority said.

Britain faces a potentially more deadly second wave of COVID-19 in the coming winter that could kill up to 120 000 people over nine months in a worst-case scenario, health experts said on Tuesday.

Shoppers in England will have to wear face coverings in shops and supermarkets from July 24 to help reduce the risk of a new pick-up in the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office said.

California’s governor ordered a retreat on Monday from the state’s reopening as coronavirus cases soared and the state’s two largest school districts, Los Angeles and San Diego, announced all learning will be online-only when classes resume in a few weeks.

New York City in the US has for the first time reported zero deaths related to COVID-19 since the main onset of the pandemic in the region in early March.

The new coronavirus pandemic raging around the globe will worsen if countries fail to adhere to strict healthcare precautions, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Monday that an unofficial city-wide election conducted by the pro-democracy camp over the weekend might have violated new national security laws by “subverting state power”.

Coronavirus infections rose above 13 million across the world on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, climbing by one million in just five days in a pandemic that has killed more than half a million people.

Florida reported a record increase of more than 15,000 new cases of COVID-19 in 24 hours on Sunday, as the Trump administration renewed its push for schools to reopen and anti-mask protests were planned in Michigan and Missouri.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases on Sunday, with the total rising by 230 370 in 24-hours.

Nearly 600 000 Hong Kong citizens cast ballots over the weekend in what the Chinese-ruled city's opposition camp said was a symbolic protest vote against a tough national security law directly imposed by Beijing.